With You
by The Vespiking
Summary: William, timid and shy, wished that he could become stronger. Finding himself waking up in the world of his favourite anime, Hunter x Hunter, can he grow out of his shell and become a better person? *Killua x Male OC*
1. New Beginning

Chapter 1

The light emanating from the television glowed dully, the blue-ish hue being the only light in the dark room as William stared at it with a smile on his face. He was lying atop a dishevelled pile of blankets which covered his bed, before he reached out and grabbed some chips from the packet before stuffing them in his open mouth.

On the screen was Hunter x Hunter, one of his favourite animes he had ever watched. It was the Hunter Exam arc, near the beginning when Gon and friends were on the boat. William was, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it, a huge fanboy of the show. He yawned, although he kept the smile on his face. He honestly loved the show – sometimes spending hours upon hours looking up how Nen works or studying the characters.

He heard thunder outside his room, jumping slightly before breathing out to calm himself. It was just some silly thunder, he reassured himself, before turning back to the show.

As he watched it right then, though, he couldn't help but feel some emptiness.

"I wish this show was… real." He thought, both embarrassed for wishing it but mournful that it wasn't.

Realizing how stupid he was sounding, he shook his head and nervously laughed to himself.

"Too much Hunter x Hunter for one day." He joked, grabbing the remote and turning the TV off.

Moving backwards, curling himself up in his blankets, he sighed and turned off the lamp next to his bed. And then he went to sleep.

-0-

"Once I'm the best Hunter in the world, I'll come back!"

Gon waved as he looked over the railing of the boat, looking out at the sea and beamed with excitement. As he stared at the blue sea that separated him from his home, all he could see were new opportunities. He was going to become a Hunter – what kind of Hunter, he didn't know or care. All that mattered was that he was going to find out what was so great about being a hunter

"The greatest Hunter in the world?"

"Kid doesn't respect us."

"Every year, there are millions of skilled applicants for the Hunter exam. But only a handful are selected – don't say stuff you can't back up boy."

Gon observed the people around him, all with threatening appearances, before walking away. He noticed two people bullying one of the sailors and frowned, walking down the stairs before the captain walked out, dealing with them. However, something in the corner of the boat caught his eyes and, as he turned around, his eyes glimmered with shock as he recognized the outline of a body.

It was a small boy who, from the looks of it, was around Gon's age. He was dressed normally, in a navy-blue jumper and black jeans, nothing particularly eye-catching about him. He was crouching, lying against the wooden railing of the boat which was clearly holding him up. His head was tilted down, his hair covering the front of his face from view, but it was clear that the child wasn't conscious.

Immediately, Gon ran – well, more accurately, he hopped from one foot to the other in long-strides – up to the boy, kneeling down. He gripped the boy's shoulder before shaking it slightly, hoping to wake the child up.

"Hello, are you alright?" Gon asked, concern evident in his voice. He hated seeing people hurt, especially someone his age.

The boy tossed and turned slightly, mumbling something incoherently, before finally opening his eyes slightly and staring at Gon. He squinted, trying to make out the other's facial features, before yawning and going to rub the sleep out of his eyes with his sleeve.

"Urgh… what's going on?" He whined, yawning tiredly as he groaned to himself, "I've only been asleep for three minutes, m— "

William blinked for a moment, recognizing that this was not in fact his mom and this was not his room. For some reason. He looked around, noticing the floor felt cold and unfamiliar and wooden. He noticed the floor felt like it was slowly swaying from left to right.

'Am I… on a boat?' William thought to himself, before staring at the boy who had woke him up. The first thing he noticed about the boy in front of him was that he was wearing exceptionally weird clothing – it was all green. His hair was spiky for some reason, which made him look at the boy with a guarded expression.

"Hey, why were you sleeping?"

William was taken aback. "Why was I… what?"

"You were sleeping, even though it's really bright!" Gon pointed out, before adding, "And you were sleeping in the corner of the boat!"

"A boat… I…" William had no words, completely bewildered by what was going on around him.

"Yeah! Oh, my name is Gon! What's yours?" Gon asked, abandoning the subject entirely. William could only wonder what his attention span was like… and then he thought about it.

'… Gon!?' The boy was flabbergasted, recognizing all Gon's features now – he was the spitting image of the main character. At first, William tried to rationalize it – wondering if he was dreaming – but then the boat made sense; they were on their way to the Hunter Exam.

"What's your name?"

"Uh—my name… is William." He mumbled his name, staring at the way the sun shined down, highlighting the outline of the boy's face and body. It was just too real, even though there was no way it could be.

"That's a weird name."

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is. But I like it!"

"Thank you… and no, it isn't."

"Yes, it- "

Seagulls, or what looked like seagulls (William wasn't entirely sure whether they were actually seagulls like in the normal world or just a similar species from here), started cawing which caught Gon's attention. William watched as Gon did everything that he expected him to – he talked to the captain about the upcoming storm, started sniffing the air… it was so abnormal, William thought, to watch everything happen around you and know what was going to happen.

Suddenly, Gon started jumping up the mast with such precision, such power that took William's breath away. It was if Gon had started flying and that was the moment William realized this was all happening. Even though he could feel the wood beneath his shoes, the wind blow through his hair, what had made it feel so real was seeing Gon jump. It felt like there was no way he could've imagined seeing someone do something like that, casually jumping up a boat with barely any effort.

The main character started talking about a storm, staring determinately at the captain who seemed to stare at them with recognition. Oh right, William remembered, he was sure that the captain transported Gon's dad, Ging, when he was twelve as well.

William, his tense legs moving slowly but surely, sauntered over to the bars. The sea, volatile and yet dignified, crashed mellowly against the side of the wooden ship. William couldn't help but notice the way the sea glimmered, the helpful rays of sunlight transforming the sea from some colourless water to a magnificent painting that exploded into a colourful array of blue, white and purple. He concurred with his earlier belief:

This was all too real.

-0-

After the sailors felt the slight pitter-patter of early raindrops and saw the darkening of the warm sky, all the Hunter examinees on the boat were moved to the deck below- not that it did them any good, mind you, considering almost everyone and their grandmother became incredibly seasick. William couldn't blame them: the ship couldn't stay still, rocking frequently as if it were sinking. He was still slightly annoyed at the various groans and moaning that plagued the ship, though.

Unsurprisingly, the few people who weren't sick were Gon and his yet-to-be friends and the crew (actually, Katsuo was faring surprisingly well). Unpredictably, however, was the fact William hadn't gotten sea sick.

He had never been one to get easily sick; not during long car rides, not during cold and wet winter days and not even when riding the ferry. He supposed that his usual immunity had something to do with it but frankly, he blamed it on his observation of Gon, Leorio and Kurapika. Luckily, none of them thought to look his way, otherwise he surely would've been asked what he was doing from Gon or a standoffish "what-are-you-looking-at" from Leorio. Kurapika would pretend either way that he didn't see him or didn't care.

William had discovered that he had gotten slightly younger. He used to be twenty-one years old but now, he deduced, he must've been twelve since him and Gon were around the same height, but he could be wrong – either way, that's what he was going with. Most people would be horrified to realise they were younger but, honestly, William was glad about it – the longer he didn't have to grow up, the better. Although he wasn't sure whether it was stalking or not, he decided to follow Gon and friends until he could find a way to get back home.

No, that implied he didn't have some sort of plan.

His plan came in the form of Alluka – the second-youngest Zoldyck child (it was never explained to the viewer but William came to the conclusion that Alluka was a boy who identified and dressed as a girl). Either way, Alluka, or namely Nanika, could grant whatever wish you wanted but the consequences of said wish would be horrifying – unless of course, you were Killua, who skipped the consequences all together. In a sense, Killua was his ticket back home: he had to befriend Killua so that he'd ask Nanika to send William back to his reality.

It wasn't as if Killua and Gon's standards for friends were particularly demanding, either. William was still unsatisfied with this plan, considering that would mean he would have to wait until the 13th Hunter Election arc, which was ages away.

The Captain glanced from behind the door, watching the various examinees. Despite the disappointing amount of people who were sick, he noticed a few "tough nuts" who managed to stick it out: the little boy in green, who tended to the various sick people by providing them with herbs and water, a blonde-haired boy, who was reading some novel, a black-haired man (or what looked like one, at least), who had been munching on what the man later exclaimed to be a rather sour apple, and finally one boy with messy brown hair, who was quietly sitting on the floor while he observed the people around him, namely the other three tough nuts.

He jumped as Katsuo suddenly bumped into the Captain in a rush to get the water to Gon, who quickly provided it to an ill man who was very eager to have some. The three other tough nuts, Kurapika, Leorio and William, stared at the boy with slight interest, specifically the latter who's eyes seemed to light up with recognition.

These ones were certainly interesting, thought the Captain.

-0-

"First, tell me your names."

The four applicants were standing in one perpendicular line, staring at the Captain in front of them. He analysed them with his hands firmly placed in his pockets, his cigar hanging from his mouth as the smoke slowly raised to the roof of the room.

"I'm Gon!" yelled the enthusiastic boy in green.

"I'm Kurapika." The blonde-haired boy calmly asserted, his voice sounding nothing but professional.

"It's Leorio." The black-haired person in a suit muttered in a begrudging manner.

"… William." Mumbled the brown-haired boy in the jumper, who seemed to be gripping the ends of his sleeves fiercely with his hands in what appeared to be a nervous habit.

The Captain nodded before continuing. "Why do you want to become Hunters?"

"Hey!" Leorio exclaimed. "If you aren't an examiner, you can't boss us around."

William, wincing a little bit, took one step away from Leorio before staring back up at him again. He didn't want to appear rude but Leorio seemed much louder in real life than when watching him on TV.

"Just answer the question."

"My dad was a Hunter." Gon exclaimed, completely fine with the idea of explaining his reasons, "I left Whale Island because I want to know why my dad desired to be a Hunter so much!"

There was absolutely no malice or disappointment in his voice. The other participants were confused by this but William understood – it was revealed later in the series that Gon had never intended to reconcile with his father but just to find him. He knew that Gon was just naturally curious, and said curiousness would lead him on a journey that took over the course of years to find someone he didn't even really want to get to know. It was weird but endearing.

This surprise was cut off by Leorio's cry of anger. "You're not supposed to answer his question!"

"Why can't I tell him why I'm here?"

"Not a team player, huh?" Leorio huffed, "I don't want to reveal why I'm here."

"I agree with Leorio." Kurapika said, which resulted in Leorio getting pissed off, stating that Kurapika was younger than him and therefore should refer to him with respect.

William probably would've been annoyed by this and assumed Leorio to be a bad person if he hadn't had the foreknowledge of his development and backstory.

"It's quite simple to avoid pesky questions by offering a plausible lie."

"Hey! Are you listening to me!?"

"However, it is quite shameful to rely upon deceit. That said if I told you the truth, I would be exposing my deepest of secrets. That is why I cannot answer this question."

"Hey, you… Don't ignore me!"

William sighed, looking at the ground troubled. Shameful to rely upon deceit, Kurapika said. And yet, if William wanted to achieve his goal, he had to lie – they wouldn't believe him otherwise.

"What about you, kid?" The Captain's question caught him off guard, resulting in him fumbling about like a fish out of water. He tried brainstorming the answer that was easiest to believe, knowing that if he was caught he could be kicked out of the Hunter Exam and never meet Killua or Alluka. He couldn't not give an answer, either, because he'd be kicked out. "Why are you taking the Hunter Exam?"

"U-um, I'm taking the Hunter Exam because…" He trailed off, biting his lip out of nervousness. For a moment or two, he struggled to think of an excuse before noticing the way his hand trembled in fear. He must've looked so shy – and then William had an idea. "… because I want to get braver. I'm… not strong, but I want to be."

It wasn't as if he was telling complete fallacies. Nervousness hadn't just been a trait he picked up when he woke up in the Hunter x Hunter world. All his life he had never been the person he wanted to be: someone who was strong, who could get things done. He longed to be someone strong, like Gon, who wasn't afraid of failing because he had confidence in his abilities. But, regretfully, in his real life he had never stepped outside of his comfort zone, never tried to achieve his goal because he didn't believe he could achieve them. Knowing that he wasted his life, he planned that, when he gets back, he was going to become the person he wants to be and not the person who it's easy to be.

William wringed his hands in nervousness, knowing that if they didn't believe him it could lead to trouble. However, as the group looked at him, their eyes seemed to cloud with understanding. Considering the child in front of them, all nervous and panicky about answering a simple question, the idea that he wanted to be stronger wasn't all too strange.

"But you don't need to become a Hunter to become stronger, you know." Leorio pointed out, wondering why the kid would choose something so extreme if he wanted to something as simple as being stronger; a simple trip to the gym would suffice. The Hunter Exam could kill him.

"B-because in the Hunter Exam, if I don't become stronger, I'll die!" William rushed out, trying to end his part of the conversation as quickly as possible. "The Hunter Exam will force me into becoming someone who's strong, else I won't survive. So—I… that's why I want to take the Hunter Exam."

He trailed off, not knowing what else to say but nobody questioned him again. He seemed too innocent, too shy to be hiding anything. The Captain nodded at him before turning to stare at Kurapika and Leorio.

"So, you two still refuse to answer my question." He turned over towards Katsuo. "Hey Katsuo, tell the examination board we have two more dropouts."

The two were shocked. "What do you mean?"

"You don't get it? The Hunter Exam has already begun." Kurapika and Leorio gaped, both of them exclaiming loudly upon hearing this revelation. William knew that the two would've be dropping out but it still must have been terrifying for them.

"There are many Hunter wannabes as there are stars under the sky. The examiners don't have the time or resources to review them all. So they hire people like us, to trim the fat. I've already identified that everyone else on the ship had to withdraw. If they couldn't stand a simple storm, they'd stand no chance in the Hunter Examination's later stages."

He stared at them.

"In other words, you only proceed to the main exam if I pass you. So think carefully before you answer my question."

Gon said 'so he says' to the group but William couldn't help but stare at the Kurta. He was frowning with his eyes closed before opening them, staring angrily at the faded ghosts of his pasts, stained with red.

"I am the last survivor of the Kurta Clan. Four years ago, my clan was annihilated by a band of criminals. My goal is to hung down that band, the Phantom Troupe."

"So, you wish to become a Bounty Hunter? The Phantom Troupe are a Class-A bounty. Not even the most grizzled Hunters can touch them. You'd be throwing away your life."

Kurapika did not even hesitate. "I do not fear death; I only fear my rage will fade over time."

His eyes flashed a dangerous red, the determination and vengeance in his eyes clear to anyone who saw it. Leorio scoffed.

"In other words, you want revenge. Why do you need to become a Hunter?"

Kurapika calmly insulted Leorio before listing off a bunch of logical and obvious reasons for why someone would become a Hunter: access to restricted areas and hidden information, the ability to commit certain acts otherwise considered impossible. He then rounded off his arguments by taunting the man but luckily, Gon managed to calm him down by asking for why he wants to become a Hunter.

"Me? I'll keep it short. I want money."

William sighed, listening to Leorio go off on a rant about how important and great money was, what it could buy and how it made you happy – unfortunately, Kurapika couldn't stop himself from insulting the man one more time with an inappropriate comment about money not being able to buy class.

"That's three times now." Leorio muttered. "Step outside. I'll end the filthy Kurta bloodline now."

Kurapika growled. "Take that back, Leorio!"

Leorio stared back at him, as Kurapika repeated himself.

"That's Leorio-san to you."

The Captain was both surprised and annoyed. "I'm not finished yet!"

"Just let them go." Gon said, looking at William and the Captain. "Mito-san once told me that if you want to get to know someone, you need to make an effort to learn why they're angry. It is important for them to understand why they're angry – so we should let them settle it themselves."

Everyone looked at Gon with renewed interest. William especially, as this had originally cut to a flashback to Mito-san telling Gon but now he was watching Gon really tell the anecdote – it was like reading somebody's memory. He wondered how often this feeling would occur.

"L-look!" One of the sailors who had been manoeuvring the steering wheel pointed at the sight in front of him. They all turned to see a horrendous storm outside which blistered and blundered, tearing through the sea as if it was nothing. The crackling of thunder frightened William but he soon reassured himself that nothing bad would happen to him, the boat doesn't sink. This isn't a big deal, he thought, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

"If we get caught in that waterspout, we'll sink!" Katsuo realized.

"Lower the sails now."

"Aye."

"We'll help, too." Gon said, gesturing to William with his thumb. He was caught off guard by this action, much preferring to stay inside the ship, before nodding violently.

Katsuo was overjoyed by the idea of help. "Uh-huh, come with me."

Gon and Katsuo, soon followed by William, ran off onto the deck. The sound of water sloshing around as people ran was discomforting. Grabbing hold of the rope, standing right behind Gon, William pulled as hard as he could to help the others out, temporarily forgetting that they'd be safe – it didn't feel safe.

He knew that somewhere else, Kurapika and Leorio were fighting for no other reason but because of individual pride and their refusal to back down. He tried to get a sneak glimpse at the fighting before seeing the group of sailors pulling Katsuo's rope let go, sending the man flying. Due to his foreknowledge, he noticed it first and quickly shouted out.

"Katsuo!"

Hearing William's yelp, Gon immediately located Katsuo and, barely taking one second, ran down towards the deck. Kurapika and Leorio tried to grab him but barely missed, before a seemingly flying Gon launched himself towards Katsuo, grabbing the man by his legs as the two other examinees each grasped onto an individual leg. William rushed down the deck and sighed in relief, seeing all four of them fine. Although he knew that everything would be fine, he had been afraid - no, terrified - that his inclusion would mess it all up.

Reaching over the railing, he healed the three participants and Katsuo up as he heard groups of sailors rushing towards them to make sure they were all group all muttered their thanks and they all breathed out a collective sigh of relief.

-0-

"You idiot! If we hadn't grabbed your legs, you'd be shark bait by now."

"Honestly, how reckless can you be?"

William, with the smallest of smiles on his face, watched in amusement as Kurapika and Leorio berated the small boy, who just beamed at them with his sunny smile. One of his favourite things about the show was the dynamic of Gon, Kurapika and Leorio (and Killua but he wasn't here) so he was disappointed when the group became less and less prominent together as the show went on, with Kurapika and Leorio being kicked to the curb, especially Leorio. Watching them interact with one another as real people was just as amusing, maybe even more so.

"But you did catch me!" Gon pointed out. "You both caught me! And William helped us up!"

The line 'William helped us up' sent said boy into a spiral of self-pity, for not actually helping in any meaningful way.

Leorio looked flabbergasted. "Well… I guess so…"

"Gon!"

"Katsuo-san!"

Katsuo ran up to the group, a grateful smile on his face. "Thanks, Gon! You saved my life."

"I couldn't have done it alone." Gon said, gesturing to the other three. "These guys helped save you to!"

Katsuo smiled at them to show his appreciation. "Thank you very much!"

Immediately came three responses:

"No, you don't need to thank me."

"Well… Yeah, I'm glad you're okay."

"I didn't even… do anything so—so you don't have to thank me."

"Yeah! So, I'll be returning to my station!"

Kurapika, seeing the way Leorio was happy that he saved Katsuo, smiled which immediately prompted Leorio to question him.

"I apologise for my rude behaviour." He turned to look at Leorio. "Sorry, Leorio-san."

Leorio was surprised. "Wh-what's with the sudden change? We sound like strangers." He shrugged it off, trying to act indifferent. "Just call me Leorio… Leorio works. And I'm sorry, too. I take back everything I said – I was wrong."

"No, it's okay-"

"I like you guys!" The hearty voice of the Captain echoed. "Okay! I'll take responsibility for bringing you four to the port closest to the exam site."

"R-really?" William asked, although he already knew this would happen.

"What about your test?" Gon asked, cheerfully.

"Like I said, it is my decision to make!" The Captain said this, before walking away. "And all four of you pass!"

The four smiled as Gon celebrated by jumping in the air. William stared out into the distance, at the shimmering horizon of the sea, and hoped he wouldn't mess up his chances.

* * *

 _Hey guys!_

 _I decided to get into the Hunter x Hunter fanfiction scene: this isn't my first ever fanfiction or story but it is my first ever fanfiction on this website. I haven't seen a large amount of male OC x male canon so I decided to write a story as such myself!_

 _I've already written up to the point where Killua and William meet, so I will be releasing them in the following week. I decided to try and give William his own distinct characteristics rather than just make him a repeat of me - he is easily frightened and shy but he wants to get stronger! I decided to make William come from the real world because I felt like it'd be interesting and it would give him and Killua good reason to talk._

 _Anyway, thank you for reading up until now. Keep reading as I will be releasing the second chapter very shortly._


	2. Neverending Tests

Chapter 2

"Huh, that's strange."

William, standing between Kurapika and Gon, was facing an exceptionally large map.

"According to the notice I received, the exam is supposedly being held somewhere in Zaban City. Right now, we're here," Leorio pointed to the town they were in, "that tree is in the opposite direction."

"Perhaps you misheard him?" Kurapika questioned although it was unlikely.

"No – he told me to head towards the cedar tree." Gon replied.

"He has no reason to lie to us, I don't think…" William added, somewhat nervously as he still wasn't used to the fact that whenever he went to speak he was wondering if he was interrupting somebody's dialogue.

"Well, this notice isn't any help! Where, exactly, in Zaban City are we meant to go?"

"Our task is to find the exam site using a limited amount of information." Kurapika explained. "Just another test before we'll be allowed to take the Hunter Exam."

"Tch! I knew that!"

Gon smiled. "Anyway, I'll go have a look. The Captain must have said so for a reason!"

"Hey, hey," Leorio was baffled, "you're serious? The bus to Zaban City is about to leave. WE should take it."

Gon waved back at the group, only serving to exasperate Leorio. Although the bus to Zaban City seemed convincing, William knew that the Captain's advice was legitimate, so he started following the boy in green the same time as Kurapika.

"Hey, you two!"

"Gon's behaviour interests me more than the Captain's advice." Kurapika explained, not caring for the bus. "I'm going with him."

Leorio turned to look at the last boy. "William!"

William turned and sheepishly looked at the ground. "I-if we're supposed to find the Hunter Exam with little help, it just seems too easy t-that there'd be a bus to the Exam site. I'll trust the Captain – why would he lie to us?"

William scuffled across the floor, quickening his pace so that he was caught up with Kurapika. Kurapika looked to the side of him at William and smiled, glad to see that the timid boy was going with them rather than Leorio – nothing personal, just that Kurapika didn't think Leorio was going the right way. As they caught up with Gon, the small spiky-haired boy grinned at them.

"Hey Kurapika! Hey William!" He greeted, instantly excited upon realizing that the two were going with him.

"Hey Gon." The two both replied at the same time.

Gon looked slightly disappointed. "Too bad Leorio isn't- "

"Wait, wait, wait! Wait for me!"

-0-

Everything seemed much faster when he was watching it via TV, William thought. The brown-haired boy gave out an exasperated sigh, stretching his arms as he followed behind Kurapika and in front of Leorio – he noticed the sight of an abandoned town when he realised they had reached their destination. He hesitantly tugged at Kurapika's arm and pointed at it, to which the Kurta hummed in response.

They strolled into the abandoned town, noting its seemingly null population.

"This is a creepy place… I don't see anyone here." Leorio grumbled, unnerved at the sight of the silent town.

"No, there are plenty here."

"What?"

Suddenly, a nameless group of people, each dressed in concealing white cloaks and masks, pulled a cart towards the group of four. In the cart, seated and facing the four, was an elderly woman dressed in purple.

"Wh-what's with this freak show?"

Always count of Leorio to break the ice, mused William.

"Exciting." Was the one word that came from the elderly woman.

"E-exciting?" This exchange was repeated one more before the old lady suddenly shot up and screamed.

"Exciting two-choice quiz!" Upon hearing her say that, the enigmatic and threatening masked individuals played some goofy music, slightly off-beat as well, which suddenly erased the previously tense atmosphere.

"You boys are headed for the tree on the hill, correct? To reach that tree, you must pass through this town. I shall administer a single-question quiz. You'll have five seconds to answer; answer wrong, and you're disqualified You'll have to give up on taking this year's Hunter Exam."

"I see…" Kurapika siled after he said this, "then this is part of the Hunter Exam."

"I happen to be a quiz expert." Leorio bragged, before the realization landed on him, "wait, only one question?"

"Your answer will either be one or two. Any other answer will be considered incorrect."

"Hold on, all four of us share one question? So, if they get the answer wrong, I'm disqualified too?"

"As if that would happen!" Kurapika proclaimed, looking displeased at what Leorio implied, "what scares me is the high likelihood of the vice versa happening."

"But, at least this means only one of us needs the right answer." William interjected, trying to end the conflict before it begins.

"Yeah, I'm not good at quizzes." Gon concurred.

Leorio sighed. "I suppose…"

"Fair point."

"Hey there, hurry up! Or else I'll answer the question first."

William turned around, to see the sight of a stranger following them. He had black hair and slanted eyes.

"He followed us, all the way from port."

Leorio was taken aback. "Seriously?"

"Sorry, kid. I happened to overhear your conversation."

The elderly woman, watching everyone with impartial eyes, asked what the group would do. Since nobody had any objections, not even Leorio, they decided to allow the stranger to do the test before them – it's not like hearing the type of questions you'd be asked would be a disadvantage. They all walked behind the stranger as he stepped forward to the buzzer that was just placed in front of him, with a smirk on his face.

"Here is your question: evil villains have captured your mother and lover. You can only save one, select 1 for mother or 2 for lover. Which will you save?"

The group (aside from William for obvious reasons) were shocked, not expecting the quiz question to be so subjective. Leorio was especially angry, wondering how this could even be considered a quiz.

The stranger barely even hesitated. "The answer is 1"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you can't replace your mother, but you can always find another lover."

The crow cawed before the old woman gestured behind her. "You may pass."

"You just have to tell the old lady what she wants to hear." The stranger said, before walking off. This answer failed to satiate Leorio, who seemed incredibly offended by the prospect.

"Hey, now! That's bull! How was that even the right answer? We're supposed to give the answers the old lady wants? And that's considered correct!?" Leorio was fuming, going off on a huge tangent. "I won't put up with this sham. I 'll find a different route!"

"It's too late." The woman announced. "Refuse to take the quiz and you're disqualified."

"Th-that's just ridiculous! Different people would expect different answer – there is no right answer!"

"No right answer…" Kurapika gasped, figuring it out. "Leorio-!"

"Wait." She pushed her fingers together, noting how the blonde-haired youth had figured it out. "Not another word from you. Say anything but the answer and you're immediately disqualified."

Kurapika was worried – if Leorio didn't realize the trick soon, he could potentially mess up the answer. The blonde-haired boy worriedly looked at the other two, noting that Gon seemed to be in deep though, seemingly still trying to figure out the trick. William, he noted, was neither speaking, panicking nor emoting at all – he must've worked out the trick as well, Kurapika deduced.

"Here is your question…" The sound of a horn was followed by a caw from the bird. "Your son and daughter have been kidnapped. You can only rescue one. Select 1 for your son or 2 for your daughter. Which one will you choose?"

Leorio gritted his teeth, walking towards and grasping a blank of wood which he swung around aggressively, hinting at his not-so soft intentions. As she counted down, he growled at the fact she was, in his opinion, mocking them.

"Buzz. Time's up."

Launching himself off the floor, Leorio swung the plank in the elderly woman's direction in an attempt to teach her a lesson. He was stopped by Kurapika blocking the attack with a mix between an angry and worried expression. The old woman didn't even acknowledge the attack.

"Don't stop me Kurapika!" Leorio yelled. "I won't be satisfied until I've taught this hag a lesson!"

"Calm down, Leorio!" Kurapika yelled back, which resulted from Leorio trying to respond before Kurapika continued. "You'll waste our correct response."

Leorio blinked.

"… Correct response?"

Kurapika sighed. "We gave the correct answer. Silence was the correct response."

"Silence…? What do you –"

"You hit the nail on the head. The quiz had no answer but we could only state 1 or 2 as the answer: in other words, silence was the only answer."

"But what about that other guy—"

William couldn't help but interject. "S-she never said he gave the right answer. She only said that he could pass… so I think that means the path he went down doesn't lead to the Hunter Exam...?"

"Precisely." The old lady pushed herself up, limping all the way to the door which she explained was the actual way to go. "This leads directly to the tree. Walk two hours and you'll reach the top."

Leorio didn't know what to say. "Oh, so that's what this was about…"

"A couple lives in the cabin beneath that tree. They serve as Navigators: if you meet their standards. believe that they will guide you to the exam site."

The clanging of the plank hitting the floor as it fell from the black-haired man's hands rung out. Overcome with guilt, Leorio hung his neck in shame as he apologized to the old lady for his rudeness but, surprisingly, she didn't mind. In fact, she stated she did the job to meet people like Leorio, before telling him to do his best to become a good Hunter.

A loud groan could be heard.

"It's no use. I can't think of an answer."

… Leorio and Kurapika laughed, amused by Gon's sudden statement. William smiled as well, seeing the spiky-haired boy lying down on the floor.

"You were still trying to think of an answer? You can stop."

"Why?"

"The quiz is over." Kurapika pointed out.

"… I know, but what if I run into a situation like that… and I can only save one person. What should I do then? One day I might have to make that choice."

Even William tensed at that line – it was never easy hearing about tough choices that they might have to face. Seeing Kurapika start to walk off, he followed slowly but not before waving goodbye to the old lady, who smiled back at him.

-0-

"Are you alright? You haven't talked much."

William averted his gaze from the shoes, which were muddied by the combination of dirt and wet grass, and looked at Leorio. The man was watching out of his eye, gauging his reaction. Gon and Kurapika were further along the path, so Leorio and William were walking together. William grimaced - every time they spoke to him, he didn't know how to act genuine so he'd end up panicking - so he hoped it wouldn't show.

"O-oh," he mumbled, "I'm fine. Just… anxious."

Leorio started at him, lingering for a second before looking forward again. William was eager to look away, redirecting his attention to the trees that surrounded them and how small they made him look in comparison. He thought about how they had just finished the quiz - or rather, how Leorio, Kurapika and Gon had finished the quiz - and frowned. He felt like he was hesitating all the time, not making any decisions because he was afraid of messing something up, and it terrified him. The Hunter Exam was dangerous, so dangerous in fact that a large percentage of the exam takers died every year, most of whom being more physically adept than him.

"Well, you shouldn't be," Leorio said, out of nowhere, "we'll help you when we can."

William's lips tilted upwards towards the ends, while simultaneously rubbing his knuckles together. However fickle it may have been, he appreciated the sentiment, even though he doubted that anyone could stop him from failing the exam. He continued to embrace the semi-comfortable silence the pair were in before Leorio suddenly stopped, causing William to bump into him.

"Another 'Beware of Magical Beasts' sign?" Leorio complained, "are we ever gonna make it to the exam site?"

William's eyes glimmered in recognition and looked over the hills where Gon and Kurapika were walking, noticing the cabin in the distance.

-0-

The four of them, standing in front of the door of the wooden cabin, hesitated as they wondered whether they should enter or not.

"Anybody home?" Leorio asked.

"Maybe they went out," Gon suggested, earning looks of confusion and disbelief from the other three.

Hesitantly, Leorio pushed open the door as the four of them walked in, revealing a gruesome (or at least, seemingly gruesome) scene. It looked ransacked, with cabins and parts of the walls broken and lying on the floor. There was a large yellow beast accompanied by the body of a young man. Leorio, Kurapika and Gon were shocked and even William was slightly unnerved by the sight, glad he already knew the context. The Kiriko looked at them and glared menacingly.

"A Transforming Magical Beast, the Kiriko! They can take human form," Kurapika revealed.

The Kiriko turned around, revealing that it was holding a woman by the throat.

"There's a woman in his arms!" Gon exclaimed.

"And the guy on the floor needs medical attention." Leorio cursed.

The Kiriko turned and, in one swift motion, leapt out of the cabin through the window, still carrying the woman.

"Leorio, we'll leave the injured man with you. William, help Leorio," Kurapika instructed before him and Gon both followed the Kiriko.

Leorio immediately jumped into action, kneeling down next to the injured man's body before opening his suitcase, revealing tons of medical supplies. He asked William for help and the two of them tended to the man's wounds. William couldn't help but admire how Leorio was behaving; the hot-headed man from before who was brash and impolite had suddenly vanished and in his place was a comforting and caring man, who reassured the injured person that his wife was fine and that he would be okay. Once they had finished tending to the man's injuries, William pondered something.

"So you and your wife are Navigators?" He asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Yes." The injured man, who had been lying on the ground, turned to look at him.

He turned to look at Leorio. "What did Kurapika say about the Magical Beast?"

"Oh," Leorio said, surprised by the sudden question, "he said it was the Kiriko, a Transforming Magical Beast... why?"

William hesitated, his hands messing around with the loose ends of his sleeves. If he couldn't convince the Navigators he deserved it, he wouldn't be able to continue so he knew he had to use his knowledge of Hunter x Hunter to convince them he was worthy.

"It's just..." He breathed in and out, finally deciding to just do it, "... don't you think it's convenient the Navigators were being attacked as soon as we got here?"

"I'd say it's inconvenient, wouldn't you?"

"N-no, I mean. What if this is just another test by the Hunter Exam? It's not like they haven't done this before... you know, with the stuff on the boat." William nervously gauged Leorio's reaction.

Leorio stared at William for a moment or two, letting the thought sink in.

"So if the attack was staged, that means they specifically chose the Magical Beast, Kiriko and Kurapika said that Kiriko can take the form of humans."

William looked over at the injured man again before deciding whether or not to speak.

"So... are you a Kiriko?"

At first, the injured man's face showed nothing but shock, but slowly his face transformed from one of shock to looking somewhat impressed. He flashed the smallest of smiles towards the brown-haired child.

-0-

"How many years has it been since someone was able to tell us apart?"

"I'm ecstatic!"

William, rubbing the sides of his arms, watched as the two furry, yellow Kiriko crouched in front of them. Kurapika and Gon had caught the Kiriko and had now reunited with him and Leorio in front of the cabin. He heard Leorio whisper to Kurapika from the side about the Kiriko but couldn't hear them. He still found it weird not being able to see or hear everything that he used to be able to at home.

"You see, the one Kurapika and I beat up is the husband," Gon explained to the three of them.

"Which one are you talking about?" They mumbled in response.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are the Navigators," one of the Kiriko explained to them, "our family provides support to the Hunter Exam."

"I'm their daughter!" The girl, who had been pretending to be the wife, cheerfully explained.

"I'm their son!" The man added.

"The Hunter Exam site changes every year, so we Navigators help by guiding the applicants to the site. But we don't help every candidate. We test applicants to see if they're qualified to take the exam. Kurapika?"

"Yes?" Kurapika's expression did not change, as if he already expected the answer.

"You successfully used the most vague of hints to determine we weren't spouses. The hint was these tattoos which, in this region, mark a woman as single for life. You have demonstrated that you are very knowledgeable. Therefore, you pass."

"Way to go, Kurapika!" Gon cheerfully exclaimed.

"Congrats..." William smiled.

The Navigators continued to go through the rest of the group. Leorio passed due to his great medical skills as well as his kindness, and Gon had passed due to his superhuman physical ability and powers of observation. William smiled, congratulating Gon, realizing it would now be his turn.

"And finally, William."

William's breath hitched, his back straightening as he prepared himself for the news.

"You didn't really do much, instead you only followed Leorio's example."

The entire group, especially Gon and Kurapika, looked at him with slight worry in their eyes. They weren't best friends or anything, but they certainly didn't want the boy to fail before the exam even started.

"However, you were able to realize that the entire situation was set-up as well as correctly assume my identity. Your intuition skills and logic make you worthy of taking the Hunter Exam."

William sighed, extremely relieved to know it worked.

"See? I knew you'd pass." Leorio said, slapping his hand against William's back.

Gon bumped his fist against William, which made him smile.

"Now, we will take you to the Hunter Exam!"

* * *

 _Here is the second chapter of With You._

 _I'm so sorry it took this long to update but I had many things to deal with in real life, but now they are done so here it is. This chapter was hard because there wasn't much wiggle room in terms of what William could do, but don't worry the next_ _chapter will feature Killua as well as the Hunter Exam, and he will not follow the plot as strictly as before. Stay tuned to see how William can even complete the exam._


	3. Uphill Battle

Chapter Three

"Wait, look at this!"

With a bright smile on his face, Gon excitedly pulled the smaller William over to the next vendor; a slender woman advertising a jewelled brooch, who claimed that it had been excavated from Zaban's underground palace and claimed it could be a national treasure. William felt slightly uncomfortable, watching her (and many other shady con-artists) shamelessly try to rip people off, but still couldn't help smiling at how much fun Gon was having.

Thanks to the navigator, they had just arrived at Zaban City. Walking down the market alley, they checked out other vendors, whilst simultaneously trying to manoeuvre the bustling crowds. They were looking at some weird fruits that William had never seen before when Leorio, who was further up the path, turned around and called for them to catch up.

Upon, catching up to Leorio, Kurapika and the navigator, they stopped.

"I believe"– the navigator looked at his map– "that is the building."

Leorio, Kurapika and Gon looked up to the gigantic building in front of them, with Gon muttering an understated comment about its height. William, however, didn't make a comment as he already knew it wasn't the exam site.

"Hey guys! Over here!" The navigator gestured to a quaint, shabby restaurant right next door.

"You can't possibly mean that Hunter applicants from around the world are meant to assemble here?" Leorio was incredulous.

"No one would expect the Hunter Exam, with its millions of candidates, to be located here, right?"

"…That's true."

They entered the restaurant, where a cook behind the counter worked quietly. The navigator began to talk with the cook, asking if the back room was available and listing off items from the menu. William briefly wondered what it would be like if somebody accidentally walked into the restaurant and coincidentally ordered the correct items in the right order, and couldn't help laughing softly. This earned him a bemused look from Kurapika, before they were all escorted into the back room.

"Wait here."

Gon was excited, unable to wait for the food to come, before being told by Kurapika that it was just the password to get in. Gon was disappointed, to say the least.

"One in every ten thousand."

The navigator looked at the confused looks all around him. "The number of applicants who make it this far. You have done extremely well for first-timers, good luck."

"Thank you," Gon replied.

The Navigator looked at him and smiled. "I would be happy to serve as your Navigator next year, too."

William felt the floor move, remembering the room acted as an elevator.

This was it, he thought. Knowing that he was nearing the Hunter Exam, he couldn't help but nervously play with his sleeves and he knew he was on the verge of panicking. The Hunter Exam was known for its dangerousness, so much though that gifted people full of potential die every year. William wasn't special, and he was terrified because he knew there was a high likelihood that he could die. He never, ever put himself in situations that were remotely risky before but now it was the only thing he could do.

Suddenly, he heard the elevator stop, realizing he missed the argument between Leorio and Kurapika.

Outside of the elevator, a long and murky tunnel was filled with a large crowd of people of around 402 people, who all stared at the four new arrivals with suspicion.

"Strange atmosphere down here."

"They clearly differ from the Hunter participants at the port and city."

Gon tried to greet the crowd but they did not reply, instead returning to their conversations.

"People are really tense…" William mumbled, getting a nod from Gon.

Suddenly, a small green blob-like person walked over to them and, starting Leorio, gave the four badges. It reminded them to wear the badge on their chests always.

"W-what happens if you lose it?" William asked, not wanting to get disqualified or penalized for losing his badge.

"Uh… Don't."

William couldn't even respond, and just looked at his badge. 406, which meant he was the last person to arrive.

"Haven't seen you guys here before."

The four of them turned to locate the origin of the noise, noticing Tonpa sitting on top of one of the pipes, before he hopped down to greet them. William grimaced, knowing that Tonpa didn't have good intentions.

"After all, this will be my thirty-fifth time taking the exam-"

"Thirty-five times!?"

"You could call me an exam veteran."

Leorio scoffed.

"If you have any questions, ask me. My name is Tonpa."

William rolled his eyes, not wanting to listen to Tonpa's friendly façade. Tonpa began to list off all the returnees one by one.

Suddenly, a scream erupted from amidst the crowd. William turned to see where the sound had come from and saw a mortified man's arms disintegrating into flowers. He couldn't move and just stared mortified at the sight – it wasn't like watching it at home. He broke his eyes away from the sight to see a man with the appearance of a magician sadistically smiling and realized it was Hisoka.

"Oh, how peculiar." Hisoka stared at the crowd. "His arms seem to have become flower petals. No smokes and mirrors here. Do take care. When you bump into someone, you really should apologize."

Everyone in the tunnel slowly turned their attention back to their conversations (even Gon, Leorio and Kurapika), something that William couldn't understand. He briefly wondered how anyone could be so casual after watching someone die.

"Oh, right," Tonpa said, "here's a little something to mark our acquaintance."

He pulled out some orange cans that William knew Tonpa had spiked with laxatives. William frowned as the man proceeded to hand the drinks out to each of them, before attempting to hand one to him.

"Uh, no thanks!" He quickly said, "I'm not very thirsty."

"Are you sure?"

"No, really I-I'm fine."

His resistance earned an inquisitive look from Kurapika, who then stared down at his own drink thoughtfully. Gon, who had just taken a sip from his drink, suddenly spat it out.

"Tonpa, this juice must have expired. It tastes funny."

Leorio suddenly spat his out, too. "Seriously!? That was close."

Tonpa tried to apologize, when Gon cheerfully told him it was fine, explaining that he had sampled a lot of mountain grasses and plants so he could taste when something is bad. Leorio and Kurapika had less impressed reactions to Tonpa, however, before he quickly left.

"Talkative old man…" Leorio grumbled.

Kurapika turned to William. "Did you know that the drink was bad?"

"I didn't want to accept anything from the other participants. They'd be eager to cut down the amount of people taking the exam, right?"

"True."

Moments later, a loud ringing noise could be heard. As William turned in the direction of the noise, he saw that the wall was rising, revealing the room was a seemingly never-ending, dark tunnel. A man in a purple suit with pink hair and black moustache stood behind the wall, who William recognized but didn't remember the name of.

"I apologize for the wait." The man spoke loudly but calmly so all the participants could here. "The entry period for Hunter applicants has ended. The Hunter Exam will now begin!"

William closed his hands into a ball and exhaled, his breath hitching slightly.

"One final caution. If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or even dead."

And that was it. The thing that had been plaguing William's mind for his entire time in the Hunter x Hunter world; the possibility of death. This was his only option, though, he had nothing – no home, no family and no friends – to go back to if he didn't take or failed the exam. The man in the purple suit gestured for those who can't accept the risks to leave and secretly, William wished he could. He almost did, as his heart was thumping rapidly, but he stayed. This was what he had to do.

"Very well, all 405 Hunter Exam participants will participate in Phase One." He said, before suddenly turning around and walking.

Everyone followed him as he walked, before he suddenly started running, making everyone run after him as well. He revealed that they were already participating in Phase One and that he, the Phase One examiner Satotz, was leading them to Phase Two. Upon hearing about how their only goal was to follow him, the participants began to talk about how simple it was.

"I expect it's an endurance test. Fine by me, I'll be right behind you!" Leorio grinned.

William followed them, breaking into a jog. He had slowed down so that he was behind Leorio, not wanting to waste so much energy in the latter half of the phase. He didn't know if he had heard it from a friend or from the internet but he remembered that for long-distance running people breathed through their noses and out through the mouths, because it got more oxygen to the lungs.

-0-

Still jogging, William watched as another participant slowed down and gave up right in front of him. He was beginning to become tired, much earlier than he would have liked, but he realized he could distract himself from his tiredness by watching the participants and wait for moments that he recognized from the series.

He had watched the cocky nerd jog past everyone to the front of the crowd with his computer, and used this to determine how much longer the exam would be. Unlike everybody else, William could use his knowledge of the exam to make a rough estimate about how much longer the exam would be so the mental aspect of Phase One wasn't as stressful.

Right now, he was running with Gon who had slowed down so that the two could run together, which helped distract from the marathon.

"Wait up, kid!"

Suddenly, William turned his immediate attention to the source of the noise. He saw Leorio angrily shake his fist, and William's eyes widened when he realized who he was angry at. A white-haired child wearing a white shirt over a blue turtleneck. The most important person if William wanted to get back to his average life. Killua.

"Hmm?" Killua turned to look at the exhausted Leorio.

"You should show the Exam some respect!"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you using skateboard?" Leorio growled. "That's cheating! This is an endurance test!"

"No, it isn't," Gon pointed out, receiving an angry response from Leorio, "the examiner only told us to follow him."

"Yeah, so any way of following him would be valid." William added.

Killua slowed down, moving his skateboard towards both Gon and William, and looked at them inquisitively.

"Hey, how old are you two?"

"I'm twelve," Gon said.

"Um… twelve." William guessed, considering him and Gon were of similar height, although Gon was taller.

Killua suddenly jumped off his skateboard and caught it mid-air, before holding it under his arm.

"I guess I'll run too." He said, before turning towards the both. "I'm Killua."

Gon beamed. "Cool! I'm Gon."

William couldn't help averting his eyes. "I'm William."

He sped up, so that the three of them were running together, although he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep up. It appeared as if Gon and Killua weren't even bothered by the marathon, while William was trying his best to even keep up.

Suddenly, Gon slowed down to a stop and William turned to see that Leorio had stopped. The three of them waited for Leorio, despite Killua's insistence they should just forget about him. They all waited until Leorio, due to a sudden determination to become a hunter, started dashing forward at an incredible speed, flying past them.

Noticing Leorio had left behind his case, Gon threw his fishing rod and fished it, before catching it in his hand, and they all ran to catch up.

William realized that they were nearing the stairs, which meant that he had reached the eighty-kilometer mark. He smiled briefly, proud of himself for making it this far but then he speculated if his athletic ability had changed when he became a part of the Hunter x Hunter universe along with his appearance and age.

"Gon, William, wanna race to see who finishes first?" Killua challenged.

"Sure. The loser has to buy the other two dinner."

William could feel himself slowing down, and he knew there was no way that he would be able to race the two of them. He didn't want to tire himself out this close to the end of the race, considering the race would get much harder now that they were climbing up the stairs.

"N-no, thanks." William's comment made both the boys look at him. "I think I'm gonna stay at my current pace."

Killua looked at him with an expression of both disappointment and irritation before shrugging, turning to Gon and challenging him. The two of them zoomed off, leaving William by himself. William was fine being alone for now, and started running up the stairs.

After a few minutes of running up the stairs, he realized how tired he was getting. His movements were becoming more and more sluggish and he was breathing more heavily every breath. He noticed that he was slowing down more than the other examinees, who were still trying to keep up.

His muscles were sore, and he berated himself for overestimating himself. He pushed through the pain regardless, not wanting to fail during the final portion of the tunnel section of Phase One, when he was so close.

One of the examinees in front of him, a young man with brown hairs and a plain shirt, suddenly fell backwards, clearly exhausted and unable to keep moving. Realizing that the man was going to fall on him, William moved out of the way just in time before slipping on the stairs and sliding down slightly.

"Damn it…" He groaned, pushing himself back up. There was no way he was giving up.

He realized that he was now behind all the other examinees, aside from the ones who were unable to go on and were lying down. He tried closing the gap, running forward but unable to shorten the distance, only keeping it. While he was disappointed, he knew it was better than lengthening the gap and pushed himself to keep going. He couldn't see where Kurapika and Leorio or Gon and Killua were anymore, just the backs of the slower examinees.

He could hear people in front of him, although only barely, talking excitedly about something and assumed that they were talking about the exit. His body felt like it was on fire, but he pushed forward and tried to get there in time.

He briefly looked backwards to see if there was anybody behind him, only seeing one man in a red shirt and brown hair and looked forward again. He could see a bright light and started sprinting, just wanting the whole thing to be over. He was just about at the top of the stairs when the exit started closing.

He started sprinting even faster before leaping, sliding through the exit door before it could close. Kurapika, Leorio and Gon, as well as Killua, looked at him with shocked expressions as he stayed there, lying down on the grass and huffing.

"Thank god…" He breathed out, trying to calm down.

With his back against the floor, he looked to his left, noticing the man behind him hold his hand out, just on the last step and begging for them to wait for him. The door closed, trapping the man in the tunnel.

"You just barely made the cut…" Kurapika said, who had not even realized the brown-haired boy had been far behind.

Gon smiled, congratulating him on making it past Phase One, although William was too busy trying to get his breath back to even notice. Killua looked down at him with a look he could not discern, before William realized that Satotz was talking.

"…Stay close to me so you won't be deceived."

William pushed against the grass, lifting himself up.

"Don't listen to him!" Suddenly, a man appeared from the side of the exit. "He's lying to you! I'm the real examiner!"

The mass of examinees looked confused as he dragged out the body of a small ape-like creature, which looked just like Satotz.

"It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures that dwell in the Numere Wetlands. Man-Faced Apes love the taste of fresh human flesh but their limbs are very long and thin so they are weak. That's why they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans into following them into these wetlands, where they team up with other animals and kill them. He intends to trap every single applicant!"

William just stared at the fake examiner, already knowing that he wasn't real so he just focused on getting his wind back. Hisoka threw his cards at both examiners, killing the fake one but not the real one, who caught it. He reasoned that a real examiner would be able to catch an attack so simple, and was correct, but told not to do anything like that again or else he risked disqualification.

"If you lose sight of me in the Numere Wetlands fog, you will never reach the exam's Second Phase. Please keep that in mind."

The examinees started running again, much to William's distaste. Thankfully, he thought it was easier than before, as he didn't have to run up stairs anymore but kept an eye out for any possible deceptions. He heard a crow but, other than that, no creatures could be seen. William was running with Gon and Killua again and not far behind them was Hisoka.

However, Killua could sense trouble brewing behind them due to a hostile atmosphere.

"You two, let's move up," Killua said.

"Yeah, we don't won't to lose sight of the examiner." Gon nodded.

"I'm more concerned with increasing the distance between us and Hisoka. Staying too close to him is dangerous. I can smell it."

"Smell?" Gon was confused. "I don't think he smells bad."

"That's not what he meant, Gon." William explained.

"Leorio! Kurapika! Killua said we should move up!"

Killua groaned, due to Gon ignoring the obvious hostility in the air. Leorio and Kurapika shouted back that they shouldn't worry about them, so they increased their speed. It wasn't too long afterwards that they could hear screams coming from behind them, as they walked in an unknown direction in the fog.

Gon looked around. "I can hear people screaming all around us."

"I hope Leorio and Kurapika are okay…" William said.

"Just stay on your guard," Killua told them.

Suddenly, the floor beneath them collapsed as they fell screaming, before a gigantic frog came up and devoured them.

For a moment or two, they laid there inside the frog's mouth as it took a few steps and then suddenly threw up, spitting the three of them back onto the ground.

"Ew…" Willaim groaned, wiping some saliva off his sleeves, "disgusting."

Gon laughed. "I guess we didn't taste very good."

"It was this." Killua revealed a small can of juice.

"That was from Tonpa! Guess he saved us."

"I guess he was good for something…" William mumbled.

"Eh, I could have escaped." Killua brushed off.

Gon turned to look back at the forest behind them. "I'm still worried about Leorio and Kurapika."

Killua pushed himself up, and looked forward. "Forget about them. Let's go. We can still catch up to the examiner."

Killua started walking forwards through the woods, becoming shrouded by the fog. William looked at Gon, who he knew was going to go look for Kurapika and Leorio. William was undecided on what he himself should do before deciding to follow Killua, knowing that Kurapika and Leorio would find their way to Phase Two without him and so he could at least guarantee his placement in Phase Two.

He quickened his pace so that he was only slightly behind Killua, who was looking forward in an attempt to see through the fog, and walked in silence. As they continued walking, William noted he could not hear as many screams as before but as they continued, he could hear the sound of people running across the grass.

"Cool… we've caught up to the main group, guys-"

Killua turned around only to see just William.

"Huh- where's Gon?" he asked.

William shrugged, staring back into the woods behind them.

"I dunno, I thought he was following."

Killua sighed, clearly wondering where he could have gone to.

"Well, I'm sure he'll show up. We have to catch up to the examiner," he said.

"U-uh, yeah." William nodded, following Killua as the two of them re-entered the main group.

As they were running, Killua turned to look at William.

"So, why do you want to become a Hunter?"

"U-uh…"

"I know why Gon wants to be one, but I don't know about you."

William sighed. "U-um, well… I don't really know why- I mean, I know why I took the exam but I don't really want to be a Hunter."

"Why'd you take the exam, then?"

"I want to be brave." This earned an incredulous look from Killua. "I… I'm sure you've noticed I'm not the strongest of people, but I want to be. The world is a dangerous place, especially for the weak. Passing the Hunter Exam, it'll be my first step to making myself the person I want to be."

"That's a pretty big first step," Killua retorted, "you might die."

"Yeah." William trailed off.

Killua looked away. "But you made it this far, right?"

William smiled, before noticing something in the distance.

"Killua, look! Is that-"

Killua looked in the direction William pointed at.

"It's the end of the Phase!"

 _There, the entirety of Phase One of the Hunter Exam completed! William fought through the pain and has made it to Phase Two. If you want, leave a review about what you think about the story! Anyway, stay tuned._


End file.
